Sunday, March 18, 2012

Iranian Advisors in Gaza

Iran is also again threatening to cut off the strategic Strait of Hormuz to oil shipping; and the West is bracing for Iranian acts of aggression, as reported here.

Notwithstanding its covert intervention in Gaza and Sinai and encroachment in Latin America, Iran's world on the whole is shrinking--economically and politically. Banking and trade ties are being cut or tightened; and the embattled Syrian regime, which Iran has steadfastly supported, may be on its last legs. At the very least, the Syrian strife, which every day seems more like a civil war, has permanently ended Iran's dream of establishing military/missile bases in Israel's northern neighbor. (Israel's other northern neighbor, Lebanon, is still dominated by Iranian proxy Hezbollah, which is bristling with missiles capable of striking all over Israel.)

All of which means Iran is increasingly likely to lash out at its adversaries--directly and indirectly. Foreign Confidential™ analysts believe Iran could be preparing to take action in Hormuz around the middle of April, in tandem with the planned long-range missile launch by Iran's proliferation partner, North Korea, which Iran is now believed to be heavily subsidizing.

Asymmetric threats and multiple crises, missiles and mines, and Mumbai-style swarming attacks … Iran intends to fight the coming war, which appeasement has made inevitable, on its terms.